Xiaomi is hard to beat Samsung

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun recently expressed his ambition to become the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer in 3 years. That means Xiaomi will have to beat the Korean company Samsung. Xiaomi’s goal is similar to Huawei’s a few years ago, before the Chinese “big man” was hit by a series of US sanctions and plummeted without brakes. Xiaomi and a number of other compatriot brands are “benefiting” from this.

As Xiaomi pursues the high-end smartphone market, the company records certain successes. In 2020, Xiaomi surpassed Huawei to become the world’s leading Chinese smartphone brand. In the second quarter of 2021, Xiaomi also overtook Apple, ranking second in the global smartphone market with a 17% market share, according to research firm Canalys. In this quarter, Xiaomi also topped the European market with sales of nearly 13 million units, equivalent to 25% of the market share, according to Strategy Analytics.

IDC China Research Director Wang Xi said that if Xiaomi wants to maintain its current position and aim for a higher foothold, on the one hand, it needs to continue to comprehensively promote its products on a global scale, on the other hand. , they must focus on promoting high-end smartphones in foreign markets. This is the strategy that has helped Samsung stay in place for so long. Although they are famous for their expensive Galaxy line, they also sell a lot of cheap smartphones.

According to experts, becoming the top smartphone brand is “within reach” of Xiaomi, especially if it can strengthen its position in China. However, trade tensions continue to cast a shadow over its overseas business prospects, even as Xiaomi won a rare victory in the US earlier this year when it was removed from the trade embargo list.

Canalys data shows that Samsung’s annual smartphone sales have been around $300 million over the past two years, while Xiaomi’s is more than 200 million. To fill the gap, the Chinese market is very important. Xiaomi sales at home are about 40 million units per year, doubling it takes time. In addition, Xiaomi has opportunities in the Middle East and Africa.

The company barely has a presence in the US, its most important market. If they cannot gain market share in the US, they need to be in the top 2 smartphone brands in every other key market, including China, where Vivo and Oppo are closely followed.

Famous for its low-cost smartphones with good quality, Xiaomi started paying more attention to high-end smartphones 3 years ago when developing Mi 10 5G. The device launches in 2020 for $617. Despite the epidemic, the company has sold 5.77 million Mi 10 as of August 2021, double the target of 2 million units. Since then, the company has moved deeper into the high-end segment when introducing Mi 11 Ultra.

During the latest event, Mr. Lei said Xiaomi’s high-end path has only just begun and they will invest at any cost. However, he acknowledged that there is still a long way to go and that the top priority right now is to strengthen the No. 2 position in the world.